Riverside

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/05/2004 Inspector Name Kay Roberts

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Pucklechurch Playgroup Setting Address Community Centre Abson Road,Pucklechurch Pucklechurch South Glos BS16 9RW

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Pucklechurch Playgroup Address Community Centre Abson Road Pucklechurch South Gloucestershire BS16 9RW

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Pucklechurch Playgroup first opened in 1980. It operates from the community centre in Pucklechurch, a village situated near Bristol in South Gloucestershire. The group is managed by a parent committee, and serves the local predominantly white, rural community. Children have access to the large hall and a fully enclosed, designated outside area is to be laid with a suitable surface in the near future. There are currently thirty-five children on the register, and of these nine are funded four-year-olds and seventeen are funded three-year-olds. The group has provision for children with special educational needs. There are no children for whom English is a second language. The group is open five days a week during school term times. Sessions run from 09:15 to 11.45 hours, and children may attend a number of sessions. There are four members of staff, two of whom have an early years qualification. There is a parent rota system for providing additional adult support on a daily basis

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Information about the setting

by parents. The setting receives advice from a teacher and from an inclusion support worker from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

Pucklechurch Playgroup offers satisfactory care in a warm and welcoming environment. The large, clean, well organised space has been sectioned off into smaller areas to make it more child friendly. Children are provided with a balanced range of resources, some of which reflect positive images of our diverse society. Toys are rotated on a daily basis and are readily accessible to children. Premises are secure and safety is regularly reviewed. However, physical play can sometimes result in children having accidents. A high adult to child ratio is supported by parent assistants, who are given clear guidance on their role. Staff work as a team, but do not always follow the appropriate written policies and procedures covering all aspects of care. Changes in staff have not been reported to the registering authority.

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How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 All children are valued and included, adults listen to what children say and respond to their interests. They ask questions to extend learning. Children's individual needs are not always met. Staff have not received training and have very little experience of caring for children with special needs. Staff are fully aware of child protection and know the local procedure. Staff are not always proactive in managing children's behaviour, and it may not always be clear to children what is and what is not acceptable behaviour. Children do however, show care and concern for others. Children are offered a broad range of theme based activities, covering all aspects of development. There are regular planned visits from people within the local

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How good is the Day Care?

community, such as the school crossing patrol. There are opportunities to explore and investigate. Children learn the importance of health and hygiene, and this is followed through by staff offering healthy snacks. Parents comment positively on the quality of care provided by staff and information they receive about the setting. With the exception of incident records, confidentiality is well maintained.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection Pucklechurch Playgroup agreed to meet eight actions, six of which related to documentation. Documents relating to staff are now made available for inspection, there is a book to record visitors to the premises, parents sign to acknowledge medication administered by staff, incidents are recorded, there is a written procedure for outings and details of the registering authority are included in the complaints procedure. All actions have been met, although it was noted that the incidents are not kept confidential. The group also agreed to ensure the hall was maintained at an adequate temperature. At the time of the last inspection the heating system had broken down. A new boiler has been fitted and there have been no problems since this time. This action has been met. The last action was to comply with the recommendations made by the fire safety officer. The fire officer visited, but no new recommendations were made.

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What is being done well?

• Staff offer a warm, clean, well organised space in which children can play. • Staff rotate toys, which are readily accessible to children, on a daily basis. • Staff are trained in child protection and have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. • Staff organise regular visits from people within the local community, such as the school crossing patrol. • Children learn the importance of health and hygiene, and this is followed through by staff offering healthy snacks.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • Parents receive a warm welcome and comment positively on the quality of care provided by staff and information they receive about the setting.

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What needs to be improved?

• keeping the registering body informed of significant changes • safety of children during physical play • care offered to children with special needs • behaviour management strategies • compliance with policies and procedures.

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

Std Action Date 1 Ensure all conditions of registration are met, including providing details of significant changes and submission of paperwork to the vetting procedure. 12/11/2004

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

10 Develop a full understanding of the Code of Practice, and adopt a proactive approach to identifying and working in partnership with parents and other relevant parties to ensure that children’s special needs are sensitively met. 12/11/2004

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 6 Undertake a regular review of accidents and where there is a pattern of accidents, carry out a risk assessment to identify how these can be

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 prevented in future. 14 Ensure that all policies and procedures are fully implemented by staff.

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Pucklechurch Playgroup provides a well organised and welcoming environment, within which children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. The staff work well as a team and offer support to each other. Planning covers each area of learning on a regular basis, and identifies learning outcomes so that staff are clear about their role. However, some learning opportunities are missed, such as the provision of pencil and paper in the doctor's surgery for informal mark making. Children's assessments feed into planning, but plans do not include special considerations for more or less able children so some children's needs are not met. This is particularly true for children with special needs, for whom there are no individual play plans. The transfer between activities is generally effective. Children are given advance notice and staff occupy children with a game or song during any waiting time.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Although large group activities include many interesting games, stories and rhymes they are not well managed as staff cannot control the behaviour of some children. Resources are readily available to children and rotated on a daily basis. There is a flexible use of resources, but the book corner is not appealing to children. Management and leadership are generally good. A number of weaknesses within the setting have been identified and addressed, for example, by sectioning off the hall into smaller areas. Plans are in place to provide, with the support of parents, outdoor play for children. The setting is committed to the improvement and care of all children, but does not currently adequately meet the requirements of the Code of Practice. Parents receive a warm welcome and quality information about the setting. They feel that they are encouraged to be involved in their child's learning. However, to date

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How effective is the nursery education?

they have not been given sight of children's progress records.

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What is being done well?

• Staff provide a well organised and welcoming environment. • Staff work well as a team and offer support to each other. • Planning covers each area of learning on a regular basis. • Resources are readily available to children and rotated on a daily basis. • Parents receive a warm welcome and quality information about the setting.

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What needs to be improved?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • planning so that learning opportunities are maximised and children's individual needs taken into consideration • children's interest in the book area, enjoyement of stories and informal mark making • partnership with parents, so that they are fully informed of their children's progress • management of children's behaviour.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection on 26 June 1999 Pucklechurch Playgroup agreed to meet four key issues. The first was to improve planning, ensuring that clear learning objectives for the children were drawn up, along with an indication of how the staff were to be deployed. Generally good progress has been made against this issue. Planning sets out clearly what children are expected to learn and there is a separate sheet to show how staff are to be deployed. Plans lack sufficient detail with regard to identifying support for children with special needs or extensions for more able children. The second key issue was to plan to give the children opportunities to use pictures and symbols, familiar words and letters in their writing to communicate meaning. Generally good progress has been made against this issue. There are always facilities within the daily plans to facilitate writing, but opportunities which would

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What has improved since the last inspection?

encourage informal mark making, such as provision of writing materials in the doctor's surgery, are missed. The third key issue related to mathematical development. Staff were asked to plan practical activities to ensure the children have opportunities to show an awareness of number operations, adding and subtracting, and recording their findings. Generally good progress has been made against this issue. There is a well stocked maths area which is supported by an adult, while stores and rhymes include counting and subtraction. There are not, however, opportunities for children to record mathematical data. The final key issue agreed was to give children more opportunities to handle and observe living and growing things. Given the constraints of the group, with no access to outdoor play, staff have made very good progress with this key issue. Children go on bug hunts and they look at the life cycle of frogs and chicks. On occasions

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What has improved since the last inspection?

children bring their pets into the setting, for example, a Labrador and its six pups.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to separate from their main carer with confidence. They talk freely about their home and community. Children are developing attachments to peers, learning to share and are able to speak in a familiar group. On occasions children are not well behaved and this results in other children being distracted and self-confidence being inhibited. Children are able to manage their own personal hygiene, but lack sufficient opportunities to develop independence at snack time.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children use language to explore real and imagined experiences. Some children listen and respond with enjoyment to stories and participate in singing rhymes, but others are quickly distracted. They understand that print carries meaning and are able to recognise their name in print. Some children are beginning to write their own name and can identify the sounds of some letters. There are insufficient opportunities for informal mark making and the book corner is not inviting.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children confidently match one to one, up to number eight. They are learning about addition and subtraction through participation in songs, such as 'Ten Green Bottles' and stories, but some counting opportunities are missed. There is no system which allows children to record their mathematical data. Mathematical language is used to describe size. Children are developing problem solving skills through activities such as construction.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children show an interest in why things happen and how things work. They are beginning to understand everyday technology, computers and traffic lights. Children are learning about the natural world, such as the life cycle of frogs. As they use a range of construction materials, children are able to say what they will construct before they begin. Children are developing a sense of time and place. They know about the local community, but this has not been extended to consider other cultures.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are developing good co-ordination. They are learning to stay still, stretch upwards and outwards and curl up into a ball through action rhymes. Children show increasing control when climbing, jumping, using the space hopper and rolling and throwing balls. However, inappropriate behaviour can restrict their participation in energetic games. They are developing fine muscle skills and good hand-eye co-ordination as they use pencils, paintbrushes and scissors.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children can differentiate colours and they enjoy looking at what happens when they mix colours. Exploring a range of materials, children respond through their senses of smell, touch and vision. They are developing a sense of humour. Children enjoy singing their favourite rhymes and follow the actions. On occasions musical instruments accompany rhymes, but children are not given time to fully explore sounds and patterns. They use their imagination in play, but can be distracted by others.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Improve planning so that there are no missed opportunities to extend learning in any aspect of the curriculum and so that all staff are able to take into consideration the needs of individual children. • Improve the programme for communication, language and literature by enhancing the book area, developing children's listening skills to increase their enjoyment of stories and extending opportunities for informal mark making. • Further develop the partnership with parents so that they are kept fully informed of their child's progress. • Implement the behaviour management policy fully, and develop strategies that enable staff to manage the behaviour of all children effectively, including those with special educational needs. Ensure children are given clear guidelines on what is and what is not acceptable.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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